Machine designed to bind loads



United States Patent [72] Inventor [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,655,097 10/1953 Fons et a1.

Hubert Jean Elineau Versailles, France 707,090

21] AppLNo.

ggf 23 2,: 3,232,216 2/1966 Cranstonetal...............

3 [73] Assignee R.SenardetF1ls Mnmmme, seinaMan-fime, France Primary Exammer--Billy J. WilhIte 23, 1967 Attorney-Sparrow and Sparrow 32] Priority [3 3 France l 1 7,173

ABSTRA T:A h' t ldfl d '1, MACHINE DESIGNED To BIND LO S C mac me for yinga 0a 0 eongate artic es such as lengths of rolled steel sections, with a steel wire, hav- 8 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

ing a rotating crown wheel which, by encircling the load,

wra

ps the steel wire tightly around the load under the tension provided by a separate tensioning device, cuts the wire off, and ties the free ends together. The tensioning device thereafter pulls the unused length of wire back from the reversely rotated crown wheel.

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Patented Septl 8, 1970 I of 4 Sheet 2 INVENTQR B vLeT-t Jean ELnez C 'sfarrov anA SQ ATTOR Patenid Sept. 8, 1970 ATTonN ys Patented Sept. 8, 1970 Sheet FIG/I1 FIG-12 MACHINE DESIGNED TO BIND LOADS The present invention relates to a machine designed to bind loads, for instance to encircle with steel wire an assembly of bundles of rolled metal articles.

Various machines of this type are already in existence, and they usually suffer from one or more of the following drawbacks: complicated construction, insufficient tightening of the bound load, ends of the bond protruding in a dangerous way, necessity ofintroducing into the machine the load to be bound according to the length of the latter, rather slow working, cold drawing of the bond which makes it brittle, important and troublesome refuses of unused wire.

The present invention aims to remedy these various drawbacks by providing a machine of a simple and robust type, with a great safety ofworking and limited maintenance, necessitating little power, ensuring the very rapid application of a bond that is immediately tightened, with one or two turns of second choice steel wire, the very short ends of which are automatically folded back after the completion ofa twist-joint.

The invention consists mainly in a machine which comprises a revolving crown wheel, that encircles the load to be bound. This crown wheel is rotated by a motor round the load to encircle the latter with the bond, the end of which is held in a fixed position. during the process, the aforesaid crown wheel being fitted with a number of pulleys that admit, guide and wind the binding wire provided from a bobbin by passing through a tension device capable of recovering, by winding, the length of wire which, wound on the crown wheel pulleys during the application of the bond round the load, is unwound during the reverse rotation of the crown wheel after completion of the binding, special means being besides provided to bring to, and maintain in a well-defined position the bond end during the binding of the load, to cut the wire after the application ofthe bond and to twist-joint and fold back the ends of the cut bond, the cut end of the wire being held on the crown wheel.

The invention also consists in certain other arrangements mentioned hereinafter and preferably used together with the main above mentioned arrangement.

The invention relates more especially to certain methods of application and of realization of these arrangements; it relates still more especially, and as new industrial products, to the im proved machines of the above type, to the assemblies that comprise them, and to the elements and tools that are suitable to produce them.

fits a mere example and to facilitate the understanding ofthe invention, a description is given hereinafter of a particular method of realization of the invention, shown in a diagrammatical and not limitative way on the attached drawing, on which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a machine according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is, on a larger scale, a partial section of this machine along plane fit-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a gripper equipping this machine;

Fit]. 4 shows, in partial elevational and sectional view, a

twist-jointing device, equipping this machine;

FIG. 5 is a partial section of this twist-jointing device, along plane l3-l5t ofFlG. 4;

F113. 16 shows the cutting of the hind before twist-jointing of its ends and FIG. 7 shows, in elevational view, seen along arrow F of FIG. 6, the shearing device that equips the machine and carries out the cutting;

HQ. 3 is a diagram which shows, in plan view, the assembly of the various components that constitute the machine; and

FlGS. 9, 10, ill and 12 show various stages of the encircling carried out by the machine.

If it is intended to produce, according to the invention, a machine to encircle loads with a bond, and more especially according to those of its methods of application and its methods of realization ol its various parts, to which it seems that preference should be given, one proceeds in the following or a similar manner.

The machine is constituted by means of a revolving crown wheel 1, the rotation of which is obtained by means, of a motor 2 through a gear train 3 and rollers 4, 5, that roll on the circular cylindrical internal surface 6 of crown wheel 1. To increase the adhesion which is necessary for driving crown wheel 1, rollers 7, 8, acted upon by springs 9 and opposed to rollers 4, 5, press the crown wheel onto the latter rollers.

Crown wheel 1 encircles load 10 to be encircled by a bond. To facilitate the introduction of the load inside the crown wheel, the latter can with advantage comprise an opening sector 11 hinging in 12 on the remaining of crown wheel 1. A

spring, diagrammatically shown in lln tends to keep sector 11 closed so as to ensure the continuity of the rollers rolling surfaces on crown wheel 1. A jack 13, installed fixedly on framework 14 of the machine, is used to open sector 11 as shown by dotted lines on FIG. 1; to this effect, the mobile rod ofjack 13 carries a roller 15 which can be resting on sector 11. On the retracted position ofjack 13, roller 15 is held out of the path of sector 11 so as not to impede rotation of crown wheel 1.

Crown wheel 1, including its eventually opening sector, carries a number of groove pulleys 16, 17, 18, 19, which take in, guide and wind, as will be explained hereinafter, wire 20 designed to form the bond that encircles load 10. Wire 20 comes from a feeding bobbin, not shown, passes round rollers 21, which straighten the wire and restrain its motion, then on culates in a tension device described hereinafter, before reaching pulley 16 carried by crown wheel 1.

The above mentioned tension device comprises a triple arm 22 rotating round an axle 23; arm 22 rotates integrally with a pinion 24 which gears with a cogged sector 25 rotating round an axle 26 and brought back by a spring 27. Spring 27 provides thus an elastic back motion of arm 22 in its rotation round axle 23. Arm 22 carries on each end a groove pulley; these pulleys are shown by markings in 28, 29, 30. The tension device comprises also a fixed drum 31 with a circular sector shape, coaxial with axle 23, and fitted or not with a peripheral groove 32, and a pulley with groove 33 that admits wire 20 which comes from rollers 21. In the position of FIG. 1, the wire 20, after passing on pulley 33, is accommodated on the periphery of fixed drum 31, then, leaving this drum, describes approximately a half revolution round pulley 28, passes on pulleys 29 and 30, reaches pulley 16 of crown wheel 1 and, after approximately a half revolution on pulley 17, brings its end at point C. An eccentric or free wheel pulley 34 is as sociated to pulley 17, and it opposes to any returning back of wire 20 to the tension device.

Before beginning the application of the bond, constituted by wire 20, round load 10, the end of the wire which is on point C, is seized by a gripper 35 actuated by a jack 36. Gripper 35 rotates, under the action ofjack 37, round axle 38. The end of wire 20 thus comes to point D. The length of wire necessary for this transfer from C to D is provided by the tension device, the arm 22 of which rotates a little in the direction of arrow G, setting spring 27.

The encircling ofload 10 by wire 20 begins then, by rotation in the direction of arrow H of crown wheel 1, which, under the action of motor 2 and rollers 5, 6, effects one or two revolutions round the load, a certain length of wire being wound on the pulleys carried by the crown wheel. The various stages of this encircling are shown by FIGS. 9, 10, 11 for the completion of one revolution and by FIG. 12 for the completion of the second revolution. During these operations, the necessary length of wire 20 is first provided by the tension device the arm 22 of which, rotating according to arrow G, and pulley 28, unwind the wire present on drum 31. Then arm 22 of the tension device comes to the position of FIGS. 11 and 12, and the necessary length of wire 20 is directly provided by the feeding bobbin.

When the one or two revolutions encircling of load 11) by wire 20 is completed, and a bond 39 round load 10 has been obtained, one puts in position, by means ofjack 40, the twistjoint head 41 on the ends of the bond. Then a shearing device actuated by a jack 43 cuts wire 20. Pulleys 17 and 34 prevent any returning back of wire 20.

Gripper 35 and shearing device 42 are then opened and the twist-jointing of the ends of bond 39 is carried out by head 41 actuated by jack 44 by means of a cogged sector 45 and a pinion 46. The twist-joint head 41 is carried by a holder 47 hinging in 48 on the framework 14 of the machine.

During twist-jointing or after this operation, motor 2 is set in motion to rotate crown-wheel 1 in the reverse direction of arrow H so as to bring the end of wire to point C; this rotation is of one or two revolutions depending on the fact that the applied bond comprises itself one or two revolutions. During this rotation, the wire present on pulleys 18 and 19 is unwound and recovered by the tension device the arm 22 of which, brought back by spring 27, winds the wire on drum 31.

Jacks 40 and 44 bring back to the rest position holder 47, then twist-jointing head 41 respectively; load 10 is ejected, for instance laterally, through the opening of sector 11 by means of jack 13. Finally, gripper 35 comes back to point C under the action ofjack 37.

To allow rotation of arm 22, pulleys 21 are in a plane that is different from the plane of pulleys 28, 29, 30.

The machine just described can be installed on a mobile stand moving along the load to be bound.

The machine according to the invention, enables to apply bonds on loads of various shapes, for instance on loads with a rectangular shape.

it is obvious that the invention is not limited to the methods of application and realization mentioned, it also comprises all its variants.

lclaim:

1. Machine designed to bind loads, particularly assemblies of bundles of rolled metal articles by a bond consisting substantially of a steel wire, said machine comprising a rotatable crown wheel encircling the load to be bound, 2 motor, said motor rotating said crown wheel around said load whereby said load is encircled by said bond, the end of said bond being held in a fixed position during the operation, a plurality of pulleys on said crown wheel, said pulleys arranged for guiding and winding said wire, a tension device pulling said wire from a supply spool, said tension device being arranged for recovering the length of said wire being wound on said crown wheel pulleys during the application of said bond around said load, by unwinding said wire by the reverse rotation of said crown wheel after completion of said bond, swingable gripper means for feeding said end of said wire into a specific position, said gripper means further holding said end of said wire during the binding of said load, cutting means for severing said wire after application of said bond, twisting and folding back means for said ends of said cut bond, and holding means for holding said cut end of said wire on said crown wheel.

2. Machine according to claim 1, and a plurality of rollers for rotatably supporting said crown wheel.

3. Machine, according to claim 1, and said crown wheel comprising an opening sector.

4. Machine according to claim 3, and a jack means for opening said sector.

5. Machine to bind loads, particularly assemblies of bundles of rolled metal articles by a bond consisting substantially of a steel wire, said machine comprising a rotatable crown wheel encircling the load to be bound, a motor driving said crown wheel for rotation around said load whereby said load is encircled by said bond, the end of said bond being held in a fixed position during the operation, a plurality of pulleys on said crown wheel, said pulleys arranged for guiding and winding said wire, a tension device pulling said wire from a supply spool, said tension device being arranged for recovering the length of said wire being wound on said crown wheel pulleys during the application of said bond around said load, by unwinding said wire by the reverse rotation of said crown wheel after completion of said bond, swingable gripper means for feeding said end of said wire into a specific position, said gripper means further holding said end of said wire during the binding of said load, cutting means for severing said wire after application of said bond, twisting and folding back means for said ends of said cut bond, holding means for holding said cut end of said wire on said crown wheel, said tension device further comprising a rotating triple arm lever, pulleys on said arms of said lever, said tension device having an elastic back motion means and a fixed drum, said drum being coaxial with said lever, said drum being arranged for both winding and unwinding said wire effected by said lever.

6. Machine according to claim 1, and jacks actuating said swingable gripper means.

7. Machine according to claim 1, and a jack operating said twisting and folding device for twisting and folding back said ends of said bond.

8. Machine according to claim 1, said cutting device comprising a gripper and a jack actuating said gripper. 

